In December at an FCC conference in Washington, D.C., the LG Text Education program got recent attention. So I thought I’d check it out.
Usually I’m dubious about corporate-sponsored campaigns that are supposedly for the “public good.” After all, LG is a mobile phone manufacturer and their motivation is to sell their products and services, not protect our kids’ best interests.But in this case, I’m pretty impressed. The focus of the year-old LG Text Education program is to educate parents about what is going on with their kids, digitally speaking. Of it’s mission, LG says that “by becoming more informed through the LG Text Ed program, we all can enjoy the benefits of this new connectedness in a positive and safe way.”
LG draws from a council of credentialed child behavioral experts and uses charismatic actress/comedian Jane Lynch as its spokesman. The text ed program provides a balanced look at the risks posed by texting and how it fits into modern family life.
The program is not about how to react to the texting phenomenon affecting teens, but about understanding texting from the inside out and approaching it as an informed parent – the ultimate goal, in my opinion, being parental rules that are influenced by knowledge rather than fear of the unknown.
Above all, parents are encouraged to text with their kids and be educated about text acronyms, sexting, mobile bullying, excessive texting, text rage, and texting while driving. There’s no better parent than an informed parent to make rules, judgments, and decisions about their tween or teen’s texting habits.
-Article Contributed by Jenny Evans
